Our species has relied, even for its very survival, upon reading facial expressions. We recognize each other and often interpret each other’s emotions and intentions through the face. In the era before the twentieth century, the Maori of New Zealand had such elaborate and specific tattoos on their faces and bodies that the occupation of a person, their courage in battle, their political position, their relationship to the gods, and the entire history of their family could be known by anyone who looked at them. All of us carry the markings of our culture and our experience. Not on the outside like the Maori, but forever embedded in our minds and spirits. It is my mission to explore and communicate these internal markings, and I consider the face, what it shows and what it hides, to be the ultimate narrative device. All of my work generates from the idea of human potential, both realized and unrealized. Emergence, loss, anxiety and the search for the spiritual self are themes that recur in my pieces. I try to tell a story that will elicit an emotional response in the viewer and will help them see deeper into themselves.